Brazilian retail giant Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA) plans to invest around R$ 1 billion (€164 million) in its operations this year, up from R$ 750 million (€123 million) last year, its chief executive, Jorge Faiçal, has said.
Speaking to daily newspaper Valor Economico, Faiçal said that since mid-2021, the industry has been suffering from double-digit food inflation, lower salaries and high unemployment.
As a result, the volume of customers visiting stores is stable, but the average shopping basket is lower.
The group's investment in its operations will be supported by recent divestments such as hypermarkets and the transfer of assets to a real estate fund, amounting to around R$ 5 billion (€819 million).
According to Faiçal, GPA will spend R$1.2 billion to R$1.5 billion on the development of its business between 2022 and 2024.
Planned Investments For This Year
Investments planned for 2022 include the renovation of 185 Pão de Açúcar markets by December and the continuation of the organic expansion of Pão de Açúcar and Minuto.
Faiçal confirmed previously announced plans to open 100 new Minuto stores and 100 Pão de Açúcar supermarket stores between 2022 and 2024, adding that more details will be announced soon.
In the Extra store segment, the group intends to open stores in a "timely and strategic way", he added.
Faiçal said that the company wasn’t in a hurry to sell group assets abroad (such as Éxito in Colombia), although it is willing to make divestments where necessary.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
